EURL-PH-DIPE websites launched

Dear Public,

To date, nine EURLs for public health (PH) have been designated by the European Commission. These EURL-PHs are designated for seven years and their activities will be funded under the EU4Health programme.

The aim of these EURL-PHs is to support national reference laboratories to promote good practice and alignment by Member States on a voluntary basis regarding diagnostics, testing methods, use of certain tests for the uniform surveillance, notification and reporting of serious cross-border health threats.

One of the EURL-PHs was designed to focus on Diphtheria and Pertussis (EURL-PH-DIPE). The EURL-PH-DIPE was granted to a consortium led by University of Turku. Other consortium members are Institut Pasteur (IP), France, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium, Sciensano (SCI), Belgium and Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (LGL), Germany.

Within the next seven years, EURL-PH-DIPE will organize many activities including EQA rounds, European wide seroprevalence study, trainings, meetings and webinars. Further, an updated laboratory handbook for pertussis diagnosis and molecular typing will be released, data from gap analysis regarding diphtheria will be issued, and help to network members and to EU/ECDC will be provided.